


there are always good deals on christmas

by BearSpirit



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (TV)
Genre: F/M, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:37:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9066124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BearSpirit/pseuds/BearSpirit
Summary: Neal and Emma both find themselves at a car dealership two days before Christmas, their eyes set on a little yellow bug. Soulmate AU where the first words your soulmate says to you are tattooed on your wrist. Made as a Secret Santa gift for peggdaniels on tumblr.





	

“Seriously?”

The word made Neal’s eyes snap open; his head whipped around to face the woman who’d spoken. 

“I’m, uhm – uh – sorry?” he stammered, his composure momentarily lost. He paused and swallowed before he started again, having collected himself. “Are – are you talking to me?”

“Yes, of course. Who… who else would I be talking to?”

Neal took his eyes off the brunette in front of him and glanced around the parking lot, the fingers of one hand drumming nervously against those nine letters he was all too aware of etched into his other wrist. No one else was in their general vicinity, apart from a couple who he assumed were with the woman who was currently confronting him, considering they had just stepped out of her car. The pair were now watching Neal with interest, as if they were trying to decide whether to step in or not. 

“Fair point,” Neal conceded, casually taking a step back from her. He paused, trying to read her expression. She looked irritated, maybe a little tired and overworked, but that was as much as he could interpret. If her tattoo matched his first words to her, she either hadn’t realized it or she was really talented at hiding her emotions.

“You took our parking spot.”

“Yeah, sorry. You seem to have found another one, though, so…”

“My friend is pregnant; I don’t want her to walk any further than she has to,” she argued.

“It’s like, a six step difference..” Neal muttered under his breath. “Uh, listen, I’m sorry about your friend but I just need to make sure… this is kind of awkward but we’re not… we’re not soulmates, are we?” He showed her his wrist, where the word _seriously?_ was tattooed in black ink. 

“Hm?” The woman’s eyes widened and she blushed, her hostility melting almost instantly. She shook her head. “No, no, uhm, you’re good. That’s, uh, thats not what’s on my tattoo.” Flustered, she rolled back her sleeve and raised her arm to expose the words written on it: _It’s not like it’s forever, dearie._ Neal furrowed his brow for a moment (that particular word was all too familiar with him), before pushing away his thoughts and smiling at her.

“Oh. Oh, good.”

“Good?” The woman raised her eyebrows, a friendly but quizzical look on her face. 

“Not that I don’t want to be your soulmate,” Neal corrected himself quickly. “Obviously I can’t judge our compatibility in the three seconds that we’ve known each other…” She laughed in agreement and Neal grinned, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “No, it’s just that I’m relieved you don’t have to walk around with whatever mess just spilled out of my mouth tattooed on your wrist.” 

“I thought it was cute,” she countered with a smile. “I’m Belle,” she said, extending her hand. 

“Neal,” he replied warmly, shaking her hand. “You know what, why don’t we switch spots? You’re right, it was a dick move pulling in front of you like that.”

“Forget about it. I was probably overreacting,” Belle shrugged, glancing over her shoulder to notice her company had caught up to her. “Neal, this is my friend Ruby, and her fiancé Victor. Guys, this is Neal.”

“Hi. Congratulations, ah, about the baby,” Neal said, gesturing towards Ruby’s rounded stomach. 

“Hi,” Ruby replied, sliding up beside Belle. “Trust you to make friends with the asshole who stole our parking spot,” she murmured to her, feigning irritation. Belle grinned and rolled her eyes. 

“So, what brings you three to a car dealership on December 23rd?” Neal asked as he started to walk towards the shop, the recently befriended strangers following closely behind. 

“What brings anyone to buy a car this time of year?” Belle replied.

“Christmas sales,” the four muttered in unison. 

—-

“You know what, this is ridiculous. It’s two days until Christmas, we should be sitting by the fireplace, or wrapping presents, or – I don’t know – something campy like that. Why am I letting the two of you drag me to a car dealership again?”

“Well, technically speaking we can’t drag ya anywhere, considering that you’re the one driving and such.”

“Shut up, Will,” Elsa reached behind her seat to slap her friend lightly. 

“Owwwwah!” he whined dramatically, rubbing his arm.

“Right, I meant why’d I let you two drag me out of bed in the first place,” Emma clarified with an only slightly amused glance towards the backseat.

“Emma, you _need_ a new car,” Elsa started.

“I do n–”

“Emma,” Elsa interrupted, casting her friend a stern look. “You do. Your old one is a literal metal death trap that no one but you dares to step within three feet of. Besides, everyone knows you get the best deals near Christmas.”

“Well, you know what I want,” Emma said, nodding her head towards the sheet of car listings on the ground between them, on which she’s circled a less than impressive looking yellow bug. “Why don’t you just get it for me as a Christmas present?” She pouted playfully, and Elsa laughed.

“I love you, Emma, but that love does have a price limit. Cars are not in the budget, I’m afraid.”

“Well my love for you is priceless, Em,” Will said pointedly, before adding as a bit of a disclaimer, “However, I ‘appen to be extremely broke, at the current moment–”

“Remind me why we brought the peanut gallery, again?”

“Oy, I’m right ‘ere, ya know,” he muttered. 

“Annoying as he may be, he’s got to be the best negotiator in Manhattan. If anyone can get you a better deal on your dream car, it’s him.”

“Best negotiator in the world, more like,” Will corrected.

“And not cocky at all,” Emma finished, side-eyeing him over her shoulder. 

—-

“Is there something in particular you’re looking for?” Emma, Elsa and Will turned to face a blonde saleswoman in red as she approached them, smiling politely. 

“Actually, yeah, uh, I saw this one on your website,” Emma handed her a printout of the bug that’d caught her eye, glancing down to read ‘Anastasia’ from the woman’s nametag. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Anastasia nodded, “That model’s all the way at the end of the lot, to the right. There’s only one left in stock before the New Year, unless you like it in blue.”

“I’m kinda set on yellow, to be honest,” Emma said. Will elbowed her in the side and Emma shrugged apologetically, realizing only after the fact that that comment may not have been her best move, strategically.

“Alright. I’ll be right over to answer any questions, let you take it out for a bit,” Ana replied, pretending not to notice their exchange.

“Great, thanks,” Emma nodded to her, walking off in the direction she had been pointed in as Elsa and Will closed in. 

Right before she was out of earshot, she heard Elsa say, “While we have you here, we’d like to discuss the financials a bit…”

She carried herself at a brisk pace and skirted a trio of brunettes, one of whom was pregnant, she noted with a wistful smile. As she neared the end of the lot and spotted the bug from her printout, however, she stopped dead in her tracks, her smile wavering and falling off. 

Hardly believing what she was seeing, she paused to watch a scruffy looking man inside the car glance around once before taking a screwdriver out of his pocket and attempting to wedge it into the ignition. He had a calm, collected composure, as if he was supposed to be there, but Emma spotted the nervous tick – which in his case was tapping the steering wheel rhythmically with his index finger – at once. 

She could call for one of the employees and raise the alarm, maybe get him arrested, but she twisted her jaw and stormed over to the car instead.

“ _Seriously_?”

Hearing her voice, his eyes went wide with panic for a moment, and his head whipped around. When he saw her, though, he relaxed enough to give her a lopsided grin. “Oh, it’s just you.” He was looking up at her through the window as she approached, the look on his face innocent enough to make anger bubble up in Emma’s chest.

Neither one had quite registered what the other had said – not yet.

Stopping beside the window, she stooped a little and, lowering her voice, whispered harshly, “You’re seriously going to steal a car out of a company’s lot?! There’s no way that ends well, for anyone!”

“Shhh!” he shushed her, glancing around quickly to make sure no one else was within earshot. (Not that it would matter, Emma thought. With the screwdriver still halfway in the ignition, it was easy enough for anyone passing by to see what he was trying to do.) “And I’m not stealing, technically, I’m trading.”

“Trading?” Emma raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, trading my beat-up, broken down car for this new one. Anyway, no one will miss it. I mean,” he chuckled, “who would actually buy this tacky piece of crap?”

“Actually, I was… considering… buying it,” Emma said, raising her head indignantly. 

Neal laughed. “Seriously?”

“Hey,” she muttered, “That’s what I say.”

“It’s kinda a common saying. Trust me, I know.” Just then, his eyes widened and he looked at her, momentarily stricken. “Uh, hang on–” He glanced down at his wrist, and Emma, realizing what he was thinking, looked down at her own.

And there it was, plastered verbatim across her wrist: _Oh, it’s just you._

Neal raised his eyebrows and blinked up at her. They were both silent for what felt like a lifetime as they processed what had just happened. Then Emma scowled. "You’ve gotta be kidding me.” 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Neal said, sticking his hand through the window.

“Emma,” she said flatly. “Swan.”

“Neal Cassidy. You wanna join me?” He leaned away from her to unlock the passenger’s seat.

“Um–” Emma paused. 

"Oh, shit,” Neal swore as he glanced over Emma’s shoulder. She turned, following his gaze to see Elsa and a different saleswoman from the one who had greeted them approaching. “Shit, okay, act natural,” he said. Emma hurried around the car and got in, settling into the seat while Neal quickly removed the screwdriver from where it was dangling and stuffed it into Emma’s purse.

“Wha– hey, don’t make me an accomplice!” she protested.

“Honey, we’re soulmates, I’d like to think we’re kinda in this together…?” Neal joked. He did, however, respect her wishes and took the screwdriver back, cramming it into his pocket a second before the saleswoman leaned into the window, her expression a bit puzzled. 

“Did Ana already give you the keys?” she asked. 

“Hm? Um…” Emma blanked for a moment, realizing the car should have been locked (and most likely was, before Neal got to it). 

“No, ma’am, the car was unlocked when we got here,” Neal lied smoothly, smiling at the woman whose nametag read ‘Ella.’ “I hope it’s okay, we just thought we’d look over the interior while we were waiting.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” she replied, although her frown told Emma she was still a bit concerned about how the car had come to be unlocked in the first place. Emma glanced over at Elsa, who said nothing about the stranger in the driver’s seat, although she was giving her friend a slightly judgmental look and a curiously mischievous smirk that Emma recognized as her ‘I promise I won’t give you away but you better explain everything later’ smirk. 

“Mind if we take it out for a little test drive?”

“Not a problem. He’s with you?” Ella glanced quizzically at Neal. 

“Yeah. He’s my plus one.”

Ella nodded, “Alright, you’ve got free rein for the next two hours. Have fun.”

“Can we get, uh, keys?” Emma asked. 

“Right, keys…” Ella rummaged around in her jacket pocket and withdrew her set of keys, handing them to Neal. 

“It’s that easy?” Neal muttered to Emma after the saleswoman was out of earshot. Emma rolled her eyes, about to correct him, when Elsa stepped forward.

“Who is…?”

“My soulmate,” Emma shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 

“Hi,” Neal waved. 

“Hi…” Elsa replied cautiously, glancing at Emma to try and discern whether or not she was serious. 

“Where’s Will?” 

After she stopped staring at Neal, Elsa turned her attention back to Emma, her expression morphing into a grin. “Coincidentally, he’s off doing the same thing you are.”

“Covering up an attempted car theft?” Emma furrowed her brow, momentarily confused. 

“…Getting to know his soulmate…” Equally confused, Elsa glanced from Emma to Neal, and back again. “Wait, what?”

“What? Who? The saleswoman?”

“Yes, Anastasia. Did you say he was trying to steal this car?”

“Oh my God. What nonsense does that poor girl have tattooed on her wrist, then?” She was imagining it was a sizable paragraph, heavily overusing the word ‘bloody.’

“Emma, were _you_ trying to steal this car?”

“Love of my life, they’re only giving us a two hour headstart, so maybe we should start driving? Just a thought,” Neal cut in. 

Emma rolled her eyes again, but couldn’t help breaking into a grin as she caught Neal’s eye. This was, without a doubt, the most ridiculous man she had ever met. She had never really understood the hype surrounding this ‘soulmate’ thing (to be completely honest, she hadn’t really given it enough thought to form a strong opinion, or to even know if she fully believed it). Looking at this guy now, all she knew was that this wasn’t going to be a letdown. 

Did it feel magical? No, not yet at least. Was this guy already grating on her nerves? Yeah, every last one of them. But right now, all she wanted to do was get to know him better, take part in whatever stupid adventures a life with him promised, and tirelessly attempt to out-snark him. He gave her the tiniest of smiles, the corners of his lips barely tugging upwards, and Emma knew he felt the same way. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, biting her lip. Her eyes flashed with the sudden exhilaration of the moment and she stifled a smirk. 

“Then drive, cinnamon cakes.” 

“Ew, okay, point taken,” Neal winced, crinkling his nose. “I won’t call you any more pet names if you never call me that again… ever, for the rest of eternity.” 

“What? You don’t like cinnamon cakes?” Emma grinned as he twisted the key and started the engine. 

—-

“So, you in?” Neal looked at Emma, his eyes gleaming mischievously. Emma raised an eyebrow. “Stealing the car, starting our fugitive life together?”

“They have my ID and insurance info, dumbass. You seriously think they’d let us drive out of there without it?”

“I did think they were being a little too trusting,” Neal conceded. “We could get you a fake ID – I know a guy.”

“Of course you do. And, as tempting as running from the law for the rest of our lives sounds, I would rather just pay for the car like a normal person. It won’t be that expensive anyway, with the Christmas deals. Besides, I can’t go to Canada; I promised Elsa I’d be at her sister’s wedding in two days.”

“Two days… two days is Christmas. You can’t have a wedding on Christmas.”

“Why not?”

“Because Christmas is a time for gifts and celebration. Anniversaries are also a time for gifts and celebration. If you combine the two, there’s less of both. It’s simple math.”

“That’s so shallow!” Emma laughed. “I think it’s a nice idea. Anna loves Christmas, so it makes sense she’d want to get married then.”

“That’s fine, but we’re not getting married on Christmas,” Neal replied.

“Who said anything about marriage? We met thirty minutes ago.”

Neal blinked, briefly losing that confidence he had been wearing so well. “Well, I was just assuming, considering the whole ‘soulmate’ situation, that one day, marriage is a pretty solid possibility, is all,” he justified with a shrug. 

Emma had meant the comment lightheartedly, but she sensed there had been a slight change in mood. She went silent for a moment before giving him a sly smirk. “Soulmate or not, I really can’t see a future with you unless you’re a good kisser,” she teased. 

“Who’s shallow now?” Neal said with a grin. From the passenger’s seat, the blonde leaned over, attempting to angle Neal’s head towards her with one hand. The car swerved a little. “Emma, I’m driving,” he protested with what was possibly the cutest nervous laugh Emma had ever heard. “It’s not safe.”

“Pull over, then.”

“What happened to we met thirty minutes ago?” Neal asked, though he had already put on the turn signal and was turning the wheel towards the side of the road. 

“I was just assuming, considering the whole ‘soulmate’ situation…” Emma tossed her head playfully. Their little yellow bug had barely come to a stop when she sprang forward, her lips colliding with his. 

And he was a good kisser. He was a _really_ good kisser.


End file.
